Ellen Walshe, Danielle Hill Lead Record-Breaking Siege At Irish Winter Championships

2023 IRISH WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, December 14th – Saturday, December 16th
• Dublin, Ireland
• SCM (25m)
• SwimSwam Preview
• Live Results
• Livestream

The 2023 Irish Winter Championships began tonight in Dublin and the nation’s swimmers rocked some impressive record-breaking performances right out of the gate.

Fresh off her multiple appearances at the just-concluded European Short Course Championships, 24-year-old Danielle Hill topped the podium tonight on two separate occasions.

First, in the women’s 50m backstroke, the Larne swimmer produced a gold medal-worthy result of 26.67. That got the victory over Templeogue’s Ellen Walshe who clocked 27.21 for silver while Lotte Cullen of Belfast rounded out the top 3 in 27.24.

While competing in Romania last week, Hill established a new lifetime best and Irish standard of 26.33 in this event.

Just a few races later this evening, Hill additionally topped the podium in the women’s 100m freestyle, producing a shiny new Irish record in the process.

Hill stopped the clock in a rapid outing of 53.03 (25.72/27.31) to beat the field, with Walshe once again securing silver in 53.95. Victoria Catterson also earned a medal, capturing bronze in 54.38.

As for Hill, her result crushed her previous PB and Irish standard of 53.81 put up at this same competition 4 years ago.

Also, Grace Davison, the 5th-place performer in the women’s 100m free, notched a new Irish Junior Record of 55.09.

But Walshe had an Irish Record up her sleeve tonight as well, despite the University of Tennessee Swimmer diving in for her 3rd final of the night.

Walshe won the 200m IM decisively, turning in a time of 2:08.32 as the sole racer of the field under the 2:10 barrier. Walshe’s outing sliced .18 off of the 2:08.50 she scored in Romania during the semi-finals. She ultimately placed 6th in a final time of 2:09.57.

Additional Winners

• National record holder Shane Ryan topped the men’s 50m back podium handily in 23.79, beating the field by nearly a second. Of note, 16-year-old John Shortt registered 24.85 for the 2nd seed out of the heats but did not contest this evening’s medal-contending race.
• 18-year-old Evan Bailey hit a time of 47.86 (23.07/24.79) to check in not only with the gold but also with a new Irish Junior Record in the event.
• The men’s 200m fly saw 19-year-old Jack Cassin post the sole outing of the field under the 2:00 barrier. Cassin touched in 1:55.21 for the best time of his young career.
• Alan Burns-Atkin, just 17, got to the wall in 2:13.31 as the women’s 200m fly gold medalist.
• 21-year-old Limerick swimmer Eoin Corby earned gold in the men’s 100m breast in 58.54 while Niamh Coyne reaped the top spot in the women’s 100m breast in 1:06.59.
• Visiting Scottish swimmer Mark Szaranek was the top performer in the men’s 200m IM, with the 28-year-old hitting 1:53.10 for the commemorative medal. That’s a lifetime best for the former University of Stirling athlete who now trains in Gainesville.